(Reuters) - This year's Prudential RideLondon cycling festival, which featured a professional elite race, has been cancelled amid the COVID-19 crisis, organisers said on Wednesday.

"It has been confirmed today that the 2020 Prudential RideLondon festival of cycling is cancelled," organisers said in a statement.

"This decision has been taken by London authorities after engagement with partners involved in the planning of the event."

The eighth edition of the festival, which also features several mass participation events, was due to be held on Aug. 15-16.

The Aug. 16 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, which had been included in this season's revised calendar by the International Cycling Union (UCI), is now off, organisers said.

"It is absolutely the right decision to cancel this year’s event to ensure the safety of everyone involved and we all look forward to welcoming RideLondon back again in the near future," Will Norman, the London mayor's walking and cycling commissioner, said.